Privacy is often diminished or downplayed when people are lead to believe that privacy and security cannot exist together. Privacy concerns are often portrayed as anti law and order, or pro-criminal/terrorist.

The reality is that we do not have to give up privacy to get security. Many security measures that offend privacy and annoy or inconvenience the vast majority of normal law abiding people don’t really add to security.

Techdirt and the Canadian Privacy Comissioner both have recent posts talking about this. Each refers to an article by security consultant Bruce Schneier that appeared at Wired.com.

For example, he refers to most of the airport security methods as “security theatre and a waste of effort”.

These articles are worth a read.

Privacy Commissioner: In this zero-sum game, we’re all losers

Techdirt: If You’re Watching Everyone, You’re Watching No One

Wired: What Our Top Spy Doesn’t Get: Security and Privacy Aren’t Opposites